BASIC COMPONENT OF

REFERENCING

WHAT IS REFERENCING?

REFERENCING - Referencing or citing is a standard practice for

acknowledging information sources in academic .
-is defined as citing authorities or support for an
argument,
especially in a book or paper.

WHY DO WE REFERENCE?

If I have seen further it is by

standing on the shoulders of
giants

Newton, I (1676)

WHY REFERENCE?
demonstrate your reading & research
acknowledge the sources that have informed
your work
enable the reader to locate the information you
have used
To protect yourself from charges of plagiarism

WHAT NEEDS TO BE REFERENCED?

Has it been presented formally into the public domain in
some way?
Has it been presented in a tangible form? (Printed
material, the Internet, a public talk/lecture etc).
Does someone have an ownership of it? Look for a named
author or writer, or organization, including a website or
host?
Is the information presented in the source in question
outside the realm of common knowledge ?

WHEN..?
To give the source of tables, pics, statistics and diagrams which
might be copied or have been a source of idea.
When describing a theory, model or practice associated with a
particular writer.
To give credibility to an argument presented by you.
When giving emphasis to a particular idea that has found a
measure of agreement.
To inform the reader of sources of direct quotations or definitions.
When paraphrasing another person's idea that you feel is
particularly significant.

Two Elements of Referencing

IN- TEXT CITATION
Normally ( author , year)
REFERENCE LIST
At end of your essay details all
the resources youve used and
referred to in your essay.

REFERENCING/CITATION STYLES
Some commonly used style manuals are.
1.
Publication
Manual
of
the
American
Psychological
Psychology,education and other social sciences (author/ date) date important

Association

(APA)-

2. Chicago Manual of Style (author/ date) emphasis on source origin, footnotes)

3. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA)- literature & arts (author/ date)
authorship important
4. The Harvard system (author/ date)
5. The Vancouver system used in medical and scientific journal (numeric)

SOURCE OF REFERENCES

Book

Journal

Newspaper / magazine

Conference paper/proceedings

Annual report

Institutional / Government publication

Electronic sources- Website, CD-ROM, Databases

Theses/ Reports/ unpublished works etc

ELEMENTS IN THE REFERENCE LIST

Author
Title of document
Date ( year of publication)
Place of publication
Edition
Periodicity (volume/ issue/ part number)
Series

TIPS!
Keep track of everything you have used- start
compiling your reference list as soon as you start
reading a document.
Make accurate notes to distinguish your own
words/ ideas from the work of other people
Be consistent
It is better to reference too much that not enough

REFERENCES:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/176393180/Apa-Style-Format
http://www.upce.cz/jc/lingua-link/ak-psani/harw.pdf
https://explorable.com/in-text-citation
http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/citing/apa.htm